Sunderland’s summer transfer window is beginning to heat up
Sunderland are stepping up their summer transfer work with Florent Ghisolfi weighing up bids for two Serie A stars.
According to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, representatives of the AS Roma winger Matías Soulé are in the UK this weekend holding talks with the Black Cats and Premier League rivals Fulham over a potential summer transfer. Soulé is well known to Sunderland's director of football, who brought him to the Italian capital from Juventus. While he has featured regularly for the Serie A club, they are open to a sale as it would significantly bolster their position within UEFA's financial rules and enable them to reinvest in their squad ahead of their Champions League campaign next season. It is widely reported that AS Roma are seeking a fee in the region of £30 million to sanction the 23-year-old's departure. Sunderland are targeting a new right winger following Bertrand Traoré's departure this summer.
Sunderland are also keen to add another centre back to their ranks this summer and according to various reports in Italy, could step up their pursuit of Sassuolo's Bosnia international Tarik Muharemović with an official bid next week. Muharemović has other interest from the Premier League and the situation is complicated by interest from Juventus, who hold a 50% sell-on clause having sold him to Sassuolo last summer. The Black Cats have a number of other potential options in both positions, with Jhon Lucumí one potential option as he enters the last year of his contract at Bologna.
Meanwhile, Arsenal and Liverpool are according to Caught Offside weighing up a move for former Sunderland loanee Lutsharel Geertruida. The Black Cats remain keen on a potential deal for the defender, who ended the campaign in excellent form and was a key part of the club's qualification for the Europa League. Sunderland's option-to-buy clause is understood to have expired as the 25-year-old weighs up his options moving forward, but the Black Cats remain keen on signing him if possible.
What Florent Ghisolfi has said about Sunderland’s summer transfer strategy
Speaking at the start of the summer, Ghisolfi stressed that Sunderland were prioritising quality over quantity this summer.
“"I believe in the stability season after season," Ghisolfi said.
"My example is more Athletic Bilbao, where they don't have the choice and they have stability. Some clubs can change 15 players a year, we don't want that."Of course last summer we needed this refreshment, I have to say. But for this summer I prefer stability, I prefer to work on the team and the players we have. We are finding connection and this is the most important thing.
“I'm not sure we need more quantity, we need more quality. The only thing I'm sure, if someone is coming in the team, because we have this cohesion, it needs to be a fit with the Sunderland values. I like to think that last summer was a rush, was a sprint. For me this one is a marathon, more precise."
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